Twenty-three-year-old Arron Young, a reputed member of the Crips street gang, is scheduled to go to trial the week of Nov. 2 on three counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident.On the afternoon of Aug. 15, 2008, Fairbanks police responded to several reports that the occupants of two speeding vehicles were firing at each other on College Road between Aurora Drive and Danby Street.Three people in a green Buick said they were shot at by people inside a silver Isuzu SUV. The Buick had been struck by multiple bullets fired from a handgun.Several moving vehicles also were hit by bullets, and a bicyclist on the sidewalk took cover as the bullets flew. No injuries were reported.Young was arrested several weeks later after being identified as the driver of the Isuzu.At a hearing Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Crail said that at trial she will call a gang expert from the Fairbanks Police Department, who will testify the College Road shooting was in retaliation for an incident five days earlier at the Eagles Hall.In that incident, about a half dozen people were involved in a verbal altercation that resulted in gunfire. Sixteen spent shell casings were found at the scene, though no injuries were reported. Witnesses gave police little information about who was involved.
Fairbanks police Lt. Tara Tippett said the case still is open, and military officials also are investigating. Soldiers from Fort Wainwright are believed to have been involved in both the College Road and Eagles Hall incidents.There is no indication Young was involved in the Eagles Hall incident, but Crail said the incident will provide a motive for the College Road shooting.“The expert testimony will be that in gang culture, he only needed to know about it to have a motive,” she said.The Eagles Hall shooting might have been connected to two other gang incidents in Fairbanks and a rash of smaller shootings and fires, Crail said.
Among the incidents was a July 27, 2008, brawl at Wal-Mart involving about a dozen people. A handgun reportedly was brandished by one of the combatants, though no shots were fired.That melee was followed a week later by a fight at the Tanana Valley State Fair involving about 20 juveniles and adults. A security guard sustained a minor injury breaking up that fight. No arrests were made in either case.
Young’s public defender, Jennifer Hite, said there are several other possible suspects in the College Road shooting and this might be a case of mistaken identity.
The case has continued for more than a year, as attorneys have conducted more investigation into the people involved in the shooting.In April, Hite said there were serious discussions about a plea deal, but no such deal was mentioned at Thursday’s hearing.